A recorded number of 217,000-608,000 people die annually because of infection of NTDs. This low mortality rate generally influences global investment in vaccine development; therefore, reduced interest could be explained by the low percentage of people who die from NTDs. However, mortality rate does not signify the effects of worker capacity and productivity that result from population outbreaks of NTDs. Neglected tropical diseases are estimated to result in 112 million disability-adjusted life-years lost annually. This number exceeds the global disease burden and disability from HIV/AIDS, supporting the argument that NTDs should be a major public health concern.